Presets
Masterselects ships with 6 shortcut presets. Switch in Preferences → Shortcuts → Active Preset.
| Preset | Based on |
|---|
| MasterSelects | Custom default — balanced NLE layout |
| Premiere Pro | Adobe Premiere Pro key layout |
| DaVinci Resolve | Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve layout |
| Final Cut Pro | Apple Final Cut Pro layout |
| After Effects | Adobe After Effects layout |
| Beginner | Same as MasterSelects — simplest layout |
On Mac, Ctrl maps to Cmd and Alt maps to Option. All presets handle this automatically.
Preset differences by action
| Action | MasterSelects | Premiere Pro | DaVinci Resolve | Final Cut Pro | After Effects |
|---|
| Play/Pause | Space | Space | Space | Space | Space |
| Pause | K | K | K | K | — |
| Play forward | L | L | L | L | — |
| Play reverse | J | J | J | J | — |
| Toggle loop | Shift+L | Ctrl+L | Ctrl+/ | Ctrl+L | — |
| Frame forward | → | → | → | → | PageDown / Ctrl+→ |
| Frame backward | ← | ← | ← | ← | PageUp / Ctrl+← |
| Set in point | I | I | I | I | B |
| Set out point | O | O | O | O | N |
| Clear in/out | X | Ctrl+Shift+X | Alt+X | Alt+X | — |
| Add marker | M | M | M | M | Numpad * / Shift+8 |
| Split at playhead | Shift+C | Ctrl+K | Ctrl+B | Ctrl+B | Ctrl+Shift+D |
| Delete | Del / Backspace | Del / Backspace | Backspace / Del | Del / Backspace | Del |
| Copy | Ctrl+C | Ctrl+C | Ctrl+C | Ctrl+C | Ctrl+C |
| Paste | Ctrl+V | Ctrl+V | Ctrl+V | Ctrl+V | Ctrl+V |
| Next blend mode | + / Numpad+ | + / Numpad+ | + / Numpad+ | + / Numpad+ | Shift+= |
| Prev blend mode | - / Numpad- | - / Numpad- | - / Numpad- | - / Numpad- | Shift+- |
| Cut/razor tool | C | C | B | B | — |
| New project | Ctrl+N | Ctrl+Alt+N | — | Ctrl+N | Ctrl+Alt+N |
| Open project | Ctrl+O | Ctrl+O | — | Ctrl+O | Ctrl+O |
| Save | Ctrl+S | Ctrl+S | Ctrl+S | — | Ctrl+S |
| Save as | Ctrl+Shift+S | Ctrl+Shift+S | Ctrl+Shift+S | — | Ctrl+Shift+S |
| Undo | Ctrl+Z | Ctrl+Z | Ctrl+Z | Ctrl+Z | Ctrl+Z |
| Redo | Ctrl+Shift+Z / Ctrl+Y | Ctrl+Shift+Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z |
MasterSelects default shortcuts
Playback
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Space | Play/Pause toggle |
J | Reverse playback (press multiple times for faster) |
K | Pause playback |
L | Forward playback (press multiple times for faster) |
Shift+L | Toggle loop playback |
I | Set in point at playhead |
O | Set out point at playhead |
X | Clear in/out points |
Timeline navigation
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Scroll | Vertical scroll (snaps to track boundaries) |
Shift+Scroll | Horizontal scroll |
Ctrl+Scroll or Alt+Scroll | Zoom (exponential 8% per step, centered on playhead) |
Ctrl+Shift+Scroll | Toggle slot grid view (animated transition) |
← / → | Frame-by-frame navigation |
Editing
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
C | Toggle cut tool mode (click clips to split them) |
Shift+C | Split clip at playhead position |
Ctrl+C | Copy selected keyframes (or clips if no keyframes selected) |
Ctrl+V | Paste keyframes at playhead (falls back to clips if no keyframes in clipboard) |
Delete / Backspace | Delete selected (keyframes first, then clips) |
M | Add marker at playhead |
Tab | Toggle edit mode in preview |
Escape | Exit cut tool mode (return to select tool) |
Selection
| Action | Method |
|---|
| Single select | Click clip |
| Multi-select | Shift+Click |
| Add/remove from selection | Ctrl+Click |
| Linked clip select | Click (selects both video + audio) |
| Independent select | Shift+Click linked clip |
| Move multi-selection | Drag any selected clip |
| Deselect | Click empty area or marquee in empty area |
Keyframes
| Action | Method |
|---|
| Select keyframe | Click diamond |
| Multi-select | Shift+Click |
| Fine drag | Shift+Drag (10× slower) |
| Copy keyframes | Ctrl+C (with keyframes selected) |
| Paste keyframes | Ctrl+V (at playhead on selected clip) |
| Move multi-select | Drag any selected keyframe |
| Easing menu | Right-click keyframe |
Blend modes
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
+ | Next blend mode (also Shift+=, Numpad+) |
- | Previous blend mode (also Numpad-, Shift+_) |
Project
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Ctrl+N | New project |
Ctrl+S | Save project |
Ctrl+Shift+S | Save as (new project name) |
Ctrl+O | Open project |
Ctrl+Z | Undo |
Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
Ctrl+Y | Redo (alternative) |
Modifiers
Shift key
| Context | Effect |
|---|
+Scroll | Horizontal scroll |
+Drag playhead | Snap to keyframes |
+Drag keyframe | Fine control (10× slower) |
+C | Split clip at playhead |
+L | Toggle loop playback |
+Marquee | Extend selection |
+Drag curve handle | Constrain horizontal |
Alt key
| Context | Effect |
|---|
+Scroll | Zoom timeline (same as Ctrl+Scroll) |
+Drag clip | Skip linked clip movement |
+Drag in group | Skip group movement |
Ctrl/Cmd key
| Context | Effect |
|---|
+Scroll | Zoom timeline |
+Shift+Scroll | Toggle slot grid view |
+Click | Add/remove from selection |
+Z | Undo |
+Shift+Z | Redo |
+Y | Redo (alternative) |
+S | Save |
+Shift+S | Save as |
+N | New project |
+O | Open project |
Context-specific actions
Property values
| Action | Effect |
|---|
| Left-click drag | Scrub value |
| Right-click | Reset to default |
| Action | Effect |
|---|
| Double-click name | Edit track name |
| Click Eye | Toggle visibility |
| Click M | Toggle mute |
| Click S | Toggle solo |
| Click expand arrow | Show keyframe lanes |
Clips
| Action | Effect |
|---|
| Drag center | Move clip |
| Drag edges | Trim clip |
| Right-click | Context menu |
Preview edit mode
| Action | Effect |
|---|
Tab | Toggle edit mode on/off |
| Drag center | Move layer |
| Drag corner handle | Scale layer |
| Drag edge handle | Scale from edge |
Shift+Drag | Lock aspect ratio during scale |
Curve editor
| Action | Effect |
|---|
| Drag keyframe | Move time + value |
Shift+Drag | Constrain axis |
| Drag handle | Adjust bezier curve |
| Click empty | Deselect |
Quick reference card
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PLAYBACK │
│ Space = Play J/K/L = Shuttle │
│ I/O = In/Out X = Clear I/O │
│ Shift+L = Toggle Loop │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ EDITING │
│ C = Cut Tool Shift+C = Split │
│ M = Add Marker Del = Delete │
│ Ctrl+C = Copy Ctrl+V = Paste │
│ Ctrl+Z = Undo Ctrl+Shift+Z = Redo │
│ Ctrl+Y = Redo Tab = Edit Mode │
│ Esc = Exit Cut Tool │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ SELECTION │
│ Shift+Click = Multi-select │
│ Ctrl+Click = Add/Remove │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PROJECT │
│ Ctrl+N = New Ctrl+S = Save │
│ Ctrl+O = Open Ctrl+Shift+S = Save As │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ NAVIGATION │
│ Ctrl/Alt+Scroll = Zoom (exponential) │
│ Shift+Scroll = H-Scroll │
│ Ctrl+Shift+Scroll = Slot Grid Toggle │
│ ← / → = Frame-by-frame │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ BLEND MODES │
│ + = Next - = Previous │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
Customization
Shortcuts are fully customizable in Preferences → Shortcuts:
- Preset selection — choose from MasterSelects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, After Effects, or Beginner
- Per-key override — click any shortcut in the list to record a new binding
- Custom presets — save your current configuration as a named preset
- Conflict detection — the UI warns when two actions share the same key combination
- Reset — “Reset All to Preset” clears all overrides back to the active preset’s defaults
Shortcut preferences are persisted in localStorage and survive page reloads.